Page 73 of A Rising Hope

Priya’s hand yanked me by my collar to the surface.

“Okay, enough diving, captain,” she jeered.

No matter how many times I tried, the barrier wouldn’t budge. Above the water, beneath it, it was like a brick wall, impenetrable and grand.

My theories built and crumbled just as fast as my body got shoved and jerked back by whatever magic that held it in place.

“I am going back to the boat.” Priya finally ran out of patience, her body shivering from the cold. “You’d think some sharks would’ve shown up and eaten me by now, but I have had no such luck today,” she mumbled, swimming back.

“Wait!” I called out. “I need a knife.” I reached for a safely secured knife at my waist. I flinched and sliced myself deep on my palm. A little stream of dark blood ran down my hand, saltwater stinging the wound.

“Didn’t think you’d take that shark comment seriously,” Priya shot a reply, but paused.

“Blood,” I whispered, more to myself as my thoughts hastily shaped an idea.

Gideon had blood magic. And his blood and mine matched the powers within the barrier.

Our raw fire magic.

“Give me your hand.” I motioned for Priya to come back as I sliced my other palm. Blood dripped into the water, tainting it.

“Cut your palm. Our blood needs to connect. At least I think it does . . . ” I chewed on my lip, hoping this idea would work. “When we reach the barrier, I am going to try something.” Istared, my thoughts like bricks, one by one building out the plan. “It will probably feel like fire burning in your veins. I am not going to burn you, but I don’t think you’ll be able to pass through without it. We just need a moment to pass.”

Priya clicked her tongue, contemplating.

“I’m starting to understand where the notion to kill all the Magic Wielders came about. You all are so dramatic for no reason.” She released an exasperated sigh, snatching the dagger and slicing her palm.

“Just don’t let go,” I warned, grabbing her hand. The feeling of her hand in mine was so odd given who she was, what we were. I had seen her naked on more occasions than I could count, often times in quite peculiar situations, and yet this was the first time I had ever held her hand.

“Don’t make it weird, Freckles,” Priya snarled, and my lips stretched in a wide grin. We both took in as much air as our lungs would contain and dove deep below the surface.

Air was runninglow in my lungs, and I held on to Priya’s hand tighter, our blood mixing at the cut.

Closing my eyes, I searched for that comforting fire, letting it wrap around me. My body burned with fire as I opened them. Priya’s hand didn’t move, though the muscle in her temple twitched, the only sign of pain she’d show. Light illuminated from my eyes, and like a burning star, I was ready to explode.

I reached towards the barrier with my bloodied hand, sending a massive surge of power as my hand touched it.

A loud crackle sounded even this deep under water. The barrier shook at my power, sending a ripple through it. A blink, and Priya and I dove through that ripple before it sealed shut.

Triumph roared in me as I let go of Priya’s hand. We both swam to the surface, the air alarmingly low in my lungs as I recalled the fire. Our faces broke the calm waters above, our sights locked in on the harsh rocky cliff with a tall, moss-covered gray castle atop it, plastered amid the waters.

“Well, look at that, the bitch Queen’s castle,” Priya stated victoriously.

We swam towards the pebbled shore, relieved to feel the ground underneath our soaked boots.

There were no stairs around the high cliff leading to the castle above. The Queen didn’t bother with a front door to cater to her guests.

“There.” I pointed to the small opening near the lower half of the cliff. “There is a sewer and then there is a tunnel. If we could climb towards that . . . ” I wasn’t sure if it was the cold or a sense of unease, but my skin was covered in goosebumps as we paused at the bottom of the cliff, shielding our eyes from the sun as we assessed the surroundings. “If we could climb there, we could make it into the castle.”

“Sewers? You’ve truly gone full rebel, haven’t you? What happened to the finesse? To the art of killing? To the artistic touch of an assassin?” Priya huffed, color coming back to her cheeks as the sun warmed our frozen bodies. She begrudgingly followed me.

“Did you ever know?” I asked as we trudged along the path towards the boulders closer to the castle walls.

“Know what?”

I glanced back, shaking off the persistent feeling that someone was watching us. But there wasn’t a single flick of shadows. No Queen . . . nor Gideon to be anywhere seen. Not a soul, except us. Only the ambient sound of ocean waves crashing into the rocky shore.

“That I was a Destroyer?” I wasn’t sure why I asked. It really didn’t matter, but it forced my mind to focus on anything but the dreadful feeling rising in my chest.

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